The "search at the spot is continuing for any survivors and dead bodies as we don't know how many passengers were in the bus," K. Rajendra, inspector general of police in the Jammu zone, said.

"Nine injured persons were shifted to Kishtwar hospital, where attending doctors have referred four critically wounded persons to Jammu hospital for specialized treatment," he said. "We are now airlifting them to Jammu."

The bus was on its way from Kishtwar to the nearby village of Palmar when the driver lost control. The communities are located about 155 miles (250 km) from Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Accidents in Kishtwar and the neighboring Doda districts are common because of the difficult, hilly terrain and bad road conditions.

Scores of people have lost their lives in road accidents in the area in past two years.